Jimmy Kimmel Doubles Down After Trump Protests His DHS Chief ‘Plumber’ Joke

Jimmy Kimmel doubled down on his jab at Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s plumber past on Thursday after the joke drew a furious response from President Donald Trump and MAGA allies.

Earlier in the week, Kimmel targeted the newly appointed cabinet member, who worked in the trades before running for Senate, questioning his credentials to head the Department of Homeland Security.

The remarks drew fire from MAGA influencers and Republican lawmakers, who accused the comedian of mocking a working-class American. Even Trump had words for the host during a phone interview with The Five on Fox News, branding Kimmel “a loser” with “no ratings” and “no talent,” and insisting he “should be canned.”

On Thursday’s opening monologue on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Kimmel rejected claims that his remarks were aimed at tradespeople, telling viewers critics had misrepresented the joke, as he doubled down.

“The president and his pals in the MAGA media are not happy with me right now. Trump even called in to Fox to complain about me tonight,” he began.

He continued: “His apple polishers are all in a tizzy because I made light of the fact that his new head of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, before he was a senator, was a plumber,” he said. “And now he’s the head of Homeland Security, which is not necessarily the kind of resume you might hope for, for the person in charge of protecting us from terrorism.”

Kimmel added: “Of course, they decided to twist that to say it was an insult to plumbers, which it was not.”

“I wouldn’t put a plumber in charge of Homeland Security for the same reason I wouldn’t call a five-star general to pull a rat out of my toilet, OK?” he jibed as the audience laughed. “We all have our areas of expertise.”

He then went on to mock the “performative outrage” of conservative network hosts, zeroing in on Newsmax’s Rob Finnerty, who he joked was a “sensitive snowflake.”

“I’m not upset that the head of Homeland Security used to be a plumber. I’m upset that he isn’t still a plumber,” the host joked.

Flipping the point on its head, he rolled back some old clips of conservatives mocking Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) for her past as a bartender.

“Well, on behalf of bartenders everywhere, we anxiously await your apology,” Kimmel concluded.

Watch above via ABC.

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